For some time, there has been a need for tamper-resistant packaging devices and processes for consumer products which have features capable of alerting the consumer in the event that there is a possibility that the contents therein may have been tampered with after manufacturing.
The need for a practical and economical tamper resistant packaging device has now become a necessity in our lives more than ever before.
A common problem with the so called "Tamper Resistant Packaging" which are currently on the market is that even though products are packaged in shrink wrap, strip-pack, or blister pack, they can be tampered with through a small aperture opened in the walls of the package by means of thin hypodermic needles or the like, or by dissociating the adhesive seals of the package. Such a small aperture in the conventional packages cannot be readily detected by the inexperienced eye of the average consumer, who may be inexperienced in recognizing packaging imperfections of this sort. The present invention provides packaging which overcomes the above mentioned deficiencies of the prior art and provides additional novel features and advantages, and a wider range of uses than were possible with devices used heretofore. One recent development that has apparently solved the above problem and achieved substantial success is the invention disclosed and claimed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 06/493, 363, filed on May 10, 1983, invented by the common inventor and owned by the same assignee. The status of this U.S. patent application at this time is that it has been allowed, but it has not been issued or published at the date of filing this patent application in the U.S. Patent Office. The latter invention utilizes an enclosure and a closure holding the product therein and means for making available therein higher pressure than that in the surrounding atmosphere. The above mentioned enclosure and closure may be enclosed within an outer enclosure and closure which contain a predetermined quantity of flowable material. Changes in the characteristics of the package due to the flow of the flowable material into or from said package indicate the possibility that the package had been tampered with.
The present invention is a further extension of the latter concept providing greater utility and flexibility in functions, designs, constructions and the processing of tamper resistant type packaging and permits additional techniques which have not been disclosed in the prior application.